Henry Arthur McArdle (June 9, 1836 – February 16, 1908) was an American painter of French and Irish ancestry. He was born in Belfast, Ireland on June 9, 1836, and immigrated as a teenager to the U.S. state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, where he studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

he was a

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

in the service of

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

. After the war he took a job at

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

and

Baylor Female College Baylor may refer to: __NOTOC__ American schools * Baylor University, Waco, Texas ** Baylor Bears, the sports teams of Baylor University * Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas * Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, Dallas, Texas (B ...

and moved to

Independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he was also known as Harry McArdle, with his new wife Jennie Smith. After moving to Texas he interviewed members of Hood's Texas Brigade who fought with Robert E. Lee at the

Battle of the Wilderness The Battle of the Wilderness was fought on May 5–7, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the first battle of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant's 1864 Virginia Overland Campaign against General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Arm ...

, as research for his painting titled ''Lee at the Wilderness''. In 1890, Texas governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross commissioned him for a painting of

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

to hang in the capitol building. McArdle moved to San Antonio and continued to paint many scenes of Texas history. He is best known for his 1895 painting '' The Battle of San Jacinto'', which depicts

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

, and '' Dawn at the Alamo'', depicting the final battle and first completed in 1875. The original painting hung in the Texas State Capitol building but was lost when a fire destroyed the building in 1881. He completed another version of the painting in 1905, which features

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

, James Bowie and

William B. Travis William Barret "Buck" Travis (August 1, 1809 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American lawyer and soldier. At the age of 26, he was a lieutenant colonel in the Texas Army. He died at the Battle of the Alamo during the Texas Revolution. Tr ...

. Both of the paintings were purchased from the family by the State of Texas after his death, and now hang in the Senate chamber of the Texas State Capitol. Widowed in 1871, he married Isophene Lacy Dunnington. They had five children together. She died on June 18, 1907 and he died on February 16, 1908. They are buried together in City Cemetery #6 in San Antonio. In January 2015, a collection of McArdle's journals, correspondence, painting aids and other materials was placed online by Baylor University's Digital Projects Group and

The Texas Collection The Texas Collection is one of the special libraries at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Situated in the Carroll Library Building, the Texas Collection serves as a collection of various documents, items and artifacts significant to Texas history. ...

. The materials, which were drawn from Baylor University's holdings and McArdle's descendants, are available for research via the Baylor University Libraries Digital Collections.

Gallery

File:The Battle of San Jacinto (1895).jpg, '' The Battle of San Jacinto'', 1895 File:The Battle of San Jacinto (1901).jpg, ''The Battle of San Jacinto'', 1901 File:Painting, "Dawn at the Alamo," by Henry Arthur McArdle, hanging in the Senate Chamber of the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas LCCN2014632109.tif, '' Dawn at the Alamo'', 1905 File:Henry Arthur McArdle - Portrait of Henry W. Karnes, ca.1905.jpg, ''Portrait of

Henry Karnes Henry Wax Karnes (September 8, 1812August 16, 1840) was notable as a soldier and figure of the Texas Revolution, as well as the commander of General Sam Houston's "Spy Squad" at the Battle of San Jacinto. Biography Henry Wax Karnes, a native of ...

'', 1905 File:William Carey Crane portrait.jpg, ''Portrait of William Carey Crane'', 1903

References

External links

*
"The Henry McArdle Collection" from the Baylor University Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:McArdle, Henry Arthur 1836 births 1908 deaths Maryland Institute College of Art alumni University of Mary Hardin–Baylor faculty 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters Painters from Texas Artists from Belfast American cartographers American people of French descent Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) People from Independence, Texas People from San Antonio